Research Projects

The increasing presence and potential effects of pharmaceuticals, including antibiotics, in the environment have garnered significant attention. As antibiotics are excreted in human and animal waste, they find their way into sewage systems, necessitating treatment for safe disposal. Antibiotics are poorly removed in conventional wastewater treatment systems' initial stages, leading to adverse effects on biological wastewater treatment plants. This adversely affects microbial community structure and performance. Furthermore, treating antibiotics-containing wastewater has led to significantly higher numbers of antibiotic-resistant bacteria even in treated wastewater. While several studies have focused on antibiotics' removal from wastewater, they have mostly overlooked the crucial aspect of the biological process - sludge microorganisms. studies on the recovery potential of activated sludge after exposure to antibiotics are also lacking in the literature. This research proposal aims to develop a sustainable approach for efficiently removing antibiotics from municipal and livestock wastewater using aerobic and anaerobic biomass augmented with biochar. The project also aims to minimize the negative effects of antibiotics on biomass and wastewater treatment plants while identifying antibiotic-resistant microorganisms and changes in microbial community structure. The self-recovery potential of biomass after exposure to antibiotics will also be studied. The ultimate goal is to prevent antibiotic resistance from contaminating the natural environment and advance wastewater treatment technology.